10 Widely Held Companies Investors Bet Will Drop

For the first half of November investors increased their bearish position in a number of widely held US companies listed [...]

For the first half of November investors increased their bearish position in a number of widely held US companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Investors who bet against the bears would profit if these shares rise. A “short-squeeze” would exaggerate the push for a higher share price as bearish investors close their short-position. Left out of the list below are the short-selling increases in ETFs. ETF short-selling may be rising as investors hedge their bullish position against the indexes. ( List Average 1-Year Return: 21%)

1) Ford Motor Co. (F) saw its share short volume increase to 24.4 million. The short position is now 169.29 million shares. Ford recently sold a record number of vehicles in China in November. The company sold 67,505 vehicles, fueled by strong demand for its Ford Focus.

2) Short-selling for Bank of America (BAC) shares rose by 17.7M shares, up 10% from October 31 to 203.82M. Shares recently reached a 52-week high.

3) CSX Corp. (CSX) saw short-selling increase significantly by 42%, or 6.4M shares. The short volume is now at 21.8M shares.

4) Bearishness was steady for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). The short-position is now 152.4M, up 4% from October 31 2012. AMD recently cut its silicon wafer order by 75%, and will now spend $115 million, down from $500 million.

5) American International Group (AIG) shares saw bearishness rise 26% to 23.3M shares. AIG is divesting its assets, which is good for realizing value for investors.

6) Sony Corp (SNE) short-selling increased by 38% to 15.1M shares in total. Sony is struggling to return to its former glory.